Kravchik Chicherina ( Lethrus (Heteroplistodus) tschitscherini ) is a beetle of the Dwarf family ( Geotrupidae ) of the platypus superfamily. Unlike its close relatives - dung beetles and copra, it feeds not on the excrement of herbivores, but on vegetation.
| Kravchik Chicherina |
| Scientific classification |
|---|
| No rank : | Bilateral symmetric |
| Hoard : | Insects with full transformation |
| Suborder : | Polyphagous beetles |
| Infrastructure : | Scarabaeiformia Crowson, 1960 |
| Family: | Excavators-excavations |
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| International Scientific Name |
|---|
Lethrus tschitscherini Semenov , 1894 |
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Content
The specific name is given in honor of Tikhon Sergeyevich Chicherin (September 11, 1869 - March 22, 1904) - a Russian nobleman, entomologist , coleopterologist , corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences , who was a major expert on beetles who discovered and described more than 500 new taxons for science, of the founders of the Russian Entomological Review (1901) [1] .
Body length 14-21 mm. The color is black, matte with a faint bluish tint on the underside. The right mandible is somewhat larger than the left, its underside is smooth - without an appendage or tubercle. Left mandible with appendage near the base, which is directed inward and backward. Mandibles of females without appendages symmetrical. Pronotum in frequent, large and deep points. Elytra with deep grooves, the gaps between which are convex, bear separate shallow points and transverse wrinkles [2]
Endemic view for the southeast of the Dzungarian Alatau . The finds of beetles on the right bank of the Ili River from the Zharkent region in the west to the Gulja region (in Korea) in the east are known. In Kazakhstan , the marginal part of the range passes. The beetle inhabits the steppe foothills and low mountains [3] . Beetles are found both on the piedmont plain and high in the mountains (up to the lower border of the fir belt). Adults occur in April-June [2] .
The lifestyle is similar to other species of the genus. The imagoes come to the surface of the soil in spring and first live alone in shallow burrows. Then find a mate. Mating was observed on the soil surface. A pair of beetles deepens the burrow (the depth of the completed burrow is 45-60 cm). In its lower part lays several cells for posterity. Each of the cells is filled with a lump of cut leaves and young shoots of plants. The egg is laid under the cell with food. Incubation lasts about 2 weeks. The larva stage (depending on soil temperature) lasts for 30β35 days. Before pupation, the larva builds a cocoon from its own excrement and from soil particles [2] .
Adults feed on green leaves and young shoots, behind which they can climb plants rather high. Usually beetles cut several leaves or shoots, throw them down, and then cut down and pick pieces of plants from the ground [2] .
It is still a relatively ordinary species, but its numbers are declining due to overgrazing of livestock and plowing lands. It is listed in the Red Book of Kazakhstan [4] .
- β Kryzhanovsky O. L. Our predecessors: T. S. Chicherin (1869-1904).
- β 1 2 3 4 G. V. Nikolaev - Kravchiki beetles (Scarabaeidae, Geotrupinae, Lethrini): biology, systematics, distribution, determinant. Almaty: Kazak University, 2003. - 254 p.
- β The Red Book of the Kazakh SSR. T. I. Animals. Ed. 2nd - Alma-Ata: Gylym, 1991.
- Decree of the Government of the Republic of Kazakhstan of October 31, 2006 No. 1034 - Concerning the approval of the Lists of rare and endangered species of animals and plants